Saturday Night Live creator and de facto NBC late night boss Lorne Michaels isn’t known for being effusive, so we’ll forgive him for seeming a bit uncomfortable when asked to go on record with his feelings for Seth Meyers.
In a New York Times profile of Meyers published Wednesday, Michaels reflected on his longtime working relationship with the Late Night with Seth Meyers host in a very, well, Lorne Michaels way.
“He’s an honorable guy,” Michaels said of Meyers. “I love Seth. Or I care deeply about Seth, or whatever people say now. Definitely, he’s a big part of things for me.”
Late Night producer Michael Shoemaker, who worked on SNL from 1986 to 2009, told the New York Times that Meyers is “secretly a brilliant impressionist.” When Michaels was asked to weigh in, he responded, “Yeaaah, I wouldn’t go that far. But he’s good enough.”
Of course, Michaels has shown his love for Meyers in other ways. Before he hired him to replace Jimmy Fallon as host of NBC’s Late Night franchise, Meyers had held the “Weekend Update” anchor role for longer than anyone else (his replacement, Colin Jost, has since outlasted him). Meyers still holds the record as the third-longest tenured SNL cast member, just behind Kenan Thompson and Darrell Hammond.
Meyers’ latest stand-up special (and first HBO special), Seth Meyers: Dad Man Walking, premieres this Saturday, October 26 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and will be available to stream on Max.
